McDonald's has removed a Christmas advert produced with Artificial Intelligence after encountering significant criticism on social media.
The 45-second ad was created via AI video tools and was first released publicly for McDonald's Netherlands on 6 December.
Social Media Criticism and Decision to Pull
Shortly after its release, viewers on social media lambasted the implementation of AI in the film. Several called it "uncanny" and "jarringly assembled".
"This incident serves as an key learning as we explore the effective utilization of Artificial Intelligence," stated a representative from McDonald's Netherlands.
The commercial was developed for the brand by Netherlands-based agency TBWA\Neboko and American firm The Sweetshop. It portrayed various things that can go wrong during the Christmas break, under the theme "the most terrible time of the year".
A Growing Movement of AI in Advertising
Commercials that feature AI-created content have become a growing trend among major corporations, especially for the Christmas period.
- Another beverage giant has recently released back-to-back AI-created Christmas ads.
- Inherent Limitations: As clips made with current AI video tools are more likely to degrade the longer they run, most AI video outputs tend to be about a few seconds in length.
- Broader Implications: The ad also raised fears about automation in the creative industry, with some critics pointing out it might reduce work for camera crews.
Defense from the Creators
After the video's removal, a producer's chief executive, Melanie Bridge, spoke in support of the project.
She stated, the development took "over a month and a half" and involved generating "thousands of takes" which were then crafted afterward "in the same way we would on any high-craft production".
"This wasn't an AI gimmick," she commented. "The result was a finished piece."
Mixed Public Reception
While the McDonald's ad was largely panned, the reception for some AI-generated campaigns has been varied.
For instance, a consecutive AI-created Christmas ad from another major brand according to analysis received a significant "positive sentiment rating" from online commenters.
However, several companies have likewise received criticism for using AI in advertising. Italian brand Valentino, for example, was lambasted for ads that critics described as "cheap" and "disturbing".
The episode underscores the continuing debate within the advertising and creative industries about the balance between AI efficiency and audience reception.
